Sisters Are Special
by Lady Elizabeth of New York
Summary: AU. Alexander Evans was told by his father that he was too protect his sisters. Petunia was a piece of cake. But Lily? Well Lily was special. But Alex is determined to protect her and later on, her son. No matter what it takes.
1. Chapter 1

Alexander Evans was five years old when his new baby sister was born. He was very excited. His father had explained to him what a big job it was to be a big brother, when Petunia was born. Now he would have another little sister to protect, to teach and to take care of.

"Alex, when's Mummy and Daddy coming home?" Petunia asked with a whine. She hadn't seen her parents in a couple of hours and their grandmother was too busy sleeping on the couch to pay attention to her or Alex.

"She'll be here soon," Alex told her gently. "She is just picking up our new sister from the hospital."

Petunia frowned at hearing that. Having been the youngest for a few years now, she was used to being the centre of attention and never hearing the word 'no' from her parents. Right now it seemed as if all of that was dissolving away before her baby sister had even arrived!

"But I told them - I don't want a new sister," she complained, stomping her foot in frustration.

"But Tuney, you're going to be a big sister. And that is a great job because you get to be their protector and caretaker," Alex explained, just like his father had explained to him when Petunia was born.

"I don't wanna be a big sister! What if Mummy and Daddy like her better than me?" Petunia howled.

Alex sighed, finally understanding why Petunia was so upset. It had been quite some time since he was the youngest and he had forgotten how upset he had been when he had found out that there was to be a new addition to their family. It was quite natural for Petunia to feel this way. He hugged his little sister comfortingly.

"Mummy and Daddy love us all equally, and soon you'll see how great it is to have a little sister," Alex assured her.

Just then Rose and Edward Evans walked into the house. Grandma Evans woke up suddenly when she heard the front door open and then close with a click. She rushed up to her son and daughter in law.

"Well, let me see my new granddaughter," she demanded, before peering into the bundle wrapped in a green blanket. "Oh, Eddie, she's beautiful. She has yours and Alex's eyes. She's so precious. I love her already."

Petunia tugged at her grandmother's leg, wanting her grandmother to pick her up and coo over her instead of the new baby. Alex, on the other hand, went over to his mother and looked up at her expectantly, wanting to see his new sister.

"Alex, Petunia, this is Lily," Mrs. Evans told them, sitting down on the couch so Alex and Petunia could see Lily.

Petunia sat down sullenly next to her mother. Alex climbed up onto the couch next to his mother and studied the baby in his mother's arms. She really did have his and his father's eyes.

"She's perfect," Alex breathed, not noticing Petunia's jealous expression upon hearing his words.

* * *

Nine years later

"Mummy said you weren't allowed, Lily!" Petunia shrieked from outside Alex's bedroom door.

Alex sighed in annoyance. He had to finish his Language Arts homework for tomorrow. He was horrible at writing stories anyway, and his two sisters bickering away right outside his room was not helping him at all.

"Lily, please stop doing whatever you are doing, so Petunia will be quiet and I can finish my Language Art homework," Alex told her gently as they came into his room.

"Tuney, it wasn't hurting you," Lily protested, upset that she and Petunia had angered their brother.

"It's not right," Petunia snapped back. "What you're doing is freakish. You're a freak!" Petunia exclaimed angrily.

"DON'T USE THAT WORD!" Alex bellowed, spinning around, his green eyes blazing. His sisters had never seen him this angry before. They both took a step back. Seeing that he had scared his sisters, Alex took a deep breathto calm himself down. "Sorry, I just don't like that word. Now, could you both please leave me alone so I can finish my homework before dinner?"

Petunia and Lily left quietly. But Lily came in again a few minutes later, carrying a plate full of their mother's cookies.

"Thanks, Lily-billy, but you know Mum doesn't like us eating cookies before dinner," Alex reminded her.

"I won't tell if you don't tell," Lily said, a cheeky smile lighting up her face.

Alex smiled back, before grabbing a cookie.

"Alex, can I ask you something?" Lily asked hesitantly.

"Sure," he replied, munching on his cookie. He had a feeling he knew what the question would be.

"Why don't you like the word freak, and why do you keep insisting that I'm special because I can do those things?" Lily asked softly. Alex frowned. "Please tell me, Alex. I really want to know."

"Because you are special, Lily," Alex replied. "About five years ago, I knew a boy who was special too - just like you. His name was Jack Brown and he was my best friend. Jack could do amazing things, just like you can. He made books levitate and other cool stuff. But his parents didn't like it. They thought he was some sort of demon and they called him a freak. Then one day his dad took him camping. He never came back."

Lily gasped and her eyes widened in shock. "Did his father…?" Lily trailed off, too horrified to say it.

"The police could never prove it. But yeah, I think so," Alex said somberly.

"You don't think Mum and Dad will do the same to me, do you?" Lily questioned, a worried look marring her face.

"Nah, they'll love you no matter what," Alex answered firmly. "Besides if they try to do anything to you, I'll protect you."

"Oh Alex, you're the best big brother ever," Lily said sweetly, as she hugged him.

They heard footsteps on the stairs. Knowing they were their mother's, they exchanged a look.

"We better hide these," Alex remarked, shoving the cookies underneath his desk.

"What are you two up to?" Mrs. Evans asked with a knowing smile.

"Nothing, Mum. Lily was just helping me with my homework. You know how bad I am at writing stories," Alex told her with a laugh.

"Mmm-hmm. Hand the cookies over," Mrs. Evans said sternly, but the mischievous gleam in her eyes ruined it. Alex sheepishly handed the plate to her and she left, shaking her head at them.

"How did Mum know we had the cookies? Do you think she's special too?" Lily wondered excitedly.

"I'm your mother, dear, I know everything," Mrs. Evans shouted back, overhearing her daughter's comment.

* * *

"I met a boy today," Lily said excitedly, when Alex returned from football practice.

"Excellent. Give me his address," Alex said sternly. He still remembered his talk with his father, all those years ago when Petunia was going to be born, and then Lily. There had been a particular subject that had come up: boys. Alex was not to let any boy come anywhere near Lily or Petunia.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Alex, he told me what I am," she said excitedly. At once Alex tensed. Did the boy see Lily do something odd? Did he call her a freak? "He said I was a witch."

"HE WHAT!" Alex roared. He wanted to strangle this boy. How dare he say that Lily was a witch.

"No, no. I don't think he meant it in a bad way," Lily protested hurriedly. "He said he was a wizard. Maybe Jack Brown was a wizard too!"

Alex sat down next to Lily. "You think he might be special like you," Alex confirmed.

Lily nodded. "I know he is. I'm going to meet with him in the playground tomorrow. Please don't tell Tuney, she'll only get mad," Lily pleaded.

"Okay, but if that boy is mean to you, I want his address," Alex said firmly. "And I'm coming to the playground after practice so I can meet him myself."


	2. Chapter 2

Alex walked to the playground with his sister. The Snape boy was waiting for them just as Lily had said he would be.

"You came back," Snape said happily. Then he frowned when he saw Alex. "Who's he?"

"Her brother," Alex answered coldly. He narrowed his eyes as he looked up and down at Snape, sizing him up. "So you're Tobias Snape's son." Alex had heard about Tobias Snape from his dad and his friends. Alex had even seen Mr. Snape a couple of time across the street from Alex's school. He didn't seem friendly and, according to Mr. Evans, he was a violent drunk who tended to start fights.

"He is my father, yes," Snape remarked, with a sour look on his face. "But I assure you, we have nothing in common."

"Good," Alex said coolly. "Now I believe that you wanted to tell my sister about magic."

"You wouldn't be interested in it. You're a muggle Muggle," Snape told him, condescendingly. Alex didn't like the way Snape said Muggle. He was about to start yelling, when Lily touched his arm. Alex looked at her. She was silently pleading with him not to lose his temper, but to listen to Snape had to say. Alex took a deep breath. He could never say no to Lily.

"Try me," Alex said to Snape calmly, sitting down on the grass, making it quite clear that he wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Alex had met Severus. Lily visited Severus daily now. Alex could only go every other day due to his football practices. He came home, one night, to find his sisters fighting.

"You're so gullible, Lily. There is no such thing as magic. That Snape boy is just making it up so you'll talk to him. He's a creep," Petunia snapped. Neither girl noticed Alex enter the kitchen.

"Don't call him that," Lily shot back. "Besides, Alex says there is magic. He also believes Severus. And how else can you explain all the odd things I have done if there's no such thing as magic?"

"I don't know why you can do those freaky things. Alex is wrong when he says they make you special. All they make you is a freak!" Petunia exclaimed.

"You're just jealous because I'm special and you're not," Lily spat angrily. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had said. "I didn't mean it. Tuney, I didn't mean it." But it was too late, the damage had been done. Petunia ran upstairs and slammed her bedroom door behind her.

Alex set down his bag and walked over to Lily. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. And Lily buried her tear-stained face in her brother's chest, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

"She'll understand someday," Alex said soothingly, even though he doubted his own words. Petunia had never been understanding, and Alex feared that her hostility towards Lily would tear their family apart.

* * *

"And Sev said that there are these things called Dementors who guard the magic prison," Lily continued, as Alex and she set the table. "Dementors suck out your soul and take away all your happiness. Isn't that awful? Even criminals don't deserve that fate, don't you think?"

"Some criminals do," Alex muttered savagely, thinking about Jack Brown's father. Luckily Lily didn't hear him. She continued talking about the laws of magic that Severus had told her about.

Alex wondered if the magic policemen -Aurors Severus had called them - had investigated Jack's death. The policemen here had given up a month after he had disappeared. And after that, the Browns had moved away.

"Alex, are you even listening to me?" Lily asked with a raised eyebrow. Alex shook his head to clear his mind and turned back to his sister.

"Course I am, Lily. You were saying?"

"I was saying, Sev told me that my letter should come any day now, and there will be a Professor from Hogwarts coming to explain everything to Mum and Dad," Lily explained.

"Great. I'll be talking to that professor about taking care of you properly. After all, I won't be able there to watch over you," Alex remarked. Lily glared at him and she put her hands on her hips. Alex was suddenly reminded of Petunia whenever she was cross about something, which was quite often, to be honest.

"Alex, don't you dare. I don't want them thinking that I'm just a little baby who needs looking after," Lily snapped.

"Aw, come on, Lily-billy. You know that I have to make sure you are protected. Otherwise I wouldn't be a very good brother," Alex told her with a chuckle. Lily beamed at him and gave him a hug.

"You're a very good brother," she said fiercely. "The best brother, a girl could ever have."

* * *

"Why're Why are you always taking her side?" Petunia asked angrily.

"What?" Alex questioned, his brows furrowed in confusion. He had just sat down at his desk to do his homework, when Petunia had suddenly barged in, looking like she was ready to breathe fire.

"Why do you always take Lily's side over mine?" Petunia repeated, her hands on her hips. "You never listen to me - even when I'm right."

"About what? That Lily's a freak?" Alex inquired, suddenly very stern. "You're not right, and you shouldn't be talking about your sister like that."

"She is a freak, and so was that Brown boy," Petunia shrieked. "They should be locked up somewhere safe so they don't infect normal people like us."

Alex jumped up from his chair and in a few short steps he was right in front of Petunia. He looked furious. His green eyes blazed, as he towered over her. He slapped her hard on the cheek.

"NEVER SAY THAT AGAIN!" he roared.

Petunia ran out of the room, screaming to their mother that Alex hit her. Alex sat down in his chair again and breathed deeply, trying to calm himself down. He knew he shouldn't have lost his temper, but he was furious that Petunia had even suggested locking Lily up like an animal.

* * *

After getting yelled at by his father for hitting his sister, Alex stormed out of the house. He was just walking around, going nowhere really. But somehow he found himself in front of Severus house. He knocked on the door. A sallow woman opened it a crack and peered out.

"Hello, ma'am. I'm looking for your son, Severus," he said politely. The woman nodded and opened the door to let him in. She led Alex up the stairs and into Severus' room. Severus was reading a book and looked up when Alex came in.

"What're you doing here?" he asked sounding surprised, but not unhappy, to see Alex.

"I was just in the neighborhood," Alex replied, shutting the door behind him. "And I wanted to ask you something."

"About Jack Brown," Severus guessed. Alex looked taken aback. "Lily told me about him. I asked my mother. She said that the Aurors found him floating in the river. He had was stabbed multiple times. They couldn't do anything, because technically he was still a Muggle, even though he was actually a wizard."

"That's awful. People who hurt their own children should have their happiness sucked out of them," Alex remarked. Severus's scowl lightened, almost turning into a smile, - almost, but not quite.

"I agree." A few minutes of silence passed by, before Severus spoke again. "Seeing as you're here, would you like to read a little bit about witch burnings?"

"I think I already read about it in my History class," Alex answered.

"From a witch's point of view?" Alex chuckled at that, and sat on the end of Severus' bed, as Severus handed him a book from the pile next to him.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex was grounded for a month for hitting his sister. This meant no dessert, no driving and no hanging out with his friends. It would be an understatement to say that things were very frosty between the two siblings.

Petunia was still upset that Alex chose Lily's side over hers and was outraged that he had hit her. Alex was still mad over what she said and he refusal to apologize. Lily tried her best to get Petunia and Alex to talk to each other again. But they refused to even acknowledge each other's presence.

Thankfully, there was a happy occasion coming up that would take everyone's mind off the tension. Lily's eleventh birthday was just around the corner. Alex, Lily and Severus couldn't wait for the owl to come swooping in with Lily's Hogwarts letter.

Lily said she didn't want a big birthday party. She wanted to celebrate with her family and Severus. No one else. Alex guessed that decision had something to do with the fact that nobody at Lily's school knew anything about magic.

Alex knew that some of the kids had listened to Petunia and started acting as though Lily was a freak. (Although they didn't dare do it in the presence of Alex).

* * *

But soon the day arrived. And Alex could not have been happy when he tip-toed into Lily's room.

"Wake up, sleepy head," Alex whispered. Lily did not stir. Alex grinned wickedly as he raised the bucket of water above his head. It was a tradition between the Evans siblings to wake each other up by soaking them in water. Alex couldn't remember who started that tradition but he loved it all the same.

"ALEX!" Lily screamed as she was drenched by cold wet water. Alex laughed. Lily smirked at him. "Oh Alex, let me thank you for waking me up by giving you a big hug."

Alex stopped laughing and started running. Lily chased after him. Petunia stuck her head out the door.

"You two are so immature," she snapped. Lily and Alex paid her no attention.

"All right, that's enough you two. Come and eat breakfast. I made Lily's favorite," Mrs. Evans told them as they came down the stairs.

As they eat their breakfast, Alex noticed that Lily kept looking out the window, searching the sky for the owl, Severus had promised would come.

* * *

And it did come. Mrs. Evans had washing the dishes. Alex and Mrs. Evans were watching a football game. Petunia went to call a friend of hers. Lily stayed in the kitchen, waiting for it.

Alex heard a blood curling scream from the kitchen. Mrs. Evans and he ran into the kitchen, thinking Mrs. Evans had seen a rat or something. It wasn't a rat. Alex's eyes widened when he saw an owl standing on top of one of the chairs. Mrs. Evans was gripping the counter for dear life. And Lily was tearing open the envelope.

While Mr. Evans went over to his wife to make sure she was all right, Alex walked over to Lily who hugged him.

"I got in!" she shouted happily. Alex grinned at her.

"I never doubted that you would," Alex told her with a grin.

"Got into where?" Mrs. Evans asked curiously as her husband pried her fingers off the counter. "And what was that owl? What's going on?"

Alex frowned. This was the part he had been dreading. What if his parents reacted the way Petunia had? Or even worse, the way Jack's parents had?

"Mum, Dad, I'm a witch," Lily said softly. And then she explained everything that Severus had told her and she showed them the letter. At the end of it, Mrs. Evans was in tears and Mr. Evans was beaming proudly.

"Oh my little girl," Mrs. Evans cried, hugging Lily. "I knew you were special. I just didn't know how special you were."

Alex thought he saw a flash of blonde hair running up the stairs. But before he could investigate, his father swung an arm around his shoulders and lead him out to the front porch.

"Now, son, do you remember what I told you when Petunia was born?" he asked with a sigh.

"Yes. You told me that a big brother's job is very hard. That I needed to protect my sisters at whatever cost," Alex recited.

"Good, good, very good. Now this school is going to make it very hard to protect Lily," Mr. Evans remarked. "But I don't want you to think for one minute that you should give up. She is still your sister and she still needs your protection."

"I know, Dad and I will protect her as best I can," Alex promised firmly.

"Good boy. Now about this Severus boy, can we trust him?" Mr. Evans asked curiously.

* * *

Months later, on September 1st 1971, Alex drove his family to King Cross Station.

"I don't wanna go," Petunia snapped. Alex sighed but said nothing. He didn't want to get in an argument with Petunia in front of his parents. They were on speaking terms again but there was still a little bit of hostility between them.

"Alex, are you watching where you're going?" Mr. Evans asked as Alex nearly missed the exit.

"Petunia, sweetie, I'm sure you want to say goodbye to your sister," Mrs. Evans remarked. "You won't be seeing her for three months."

"Good," Petunia muttered nastily. Alex gripped the wheel tighter. He was getting sick of Petunia being such a brat. He really wished she would put aside her jealousy and realize that their sister didn't make her any less special.

Alex parked in a parking spot and helped Mr. Evans unload Lily's luggage.

"Will you write to me?" Lily asked Alex as they walked towards the platform. "Sev says that they have owls at Hogwarts so I can send you letters and you can write back to me." She looked up at Alex pleadingly.

"Of course I will," Alex promised. "Every day if you want me to."

"Um, Lily, there doesn't seem to be a Platform nine and three-quarters," Mrs. Evans told her.

"Oh, Sev said that all we have to do is go through the wall dividing the platforms nine and ten," Lily explained.

"Uh, Lily, I think only ghosts can do that," Alex reminded her. Lily laughed.

"Don't be silly. I'm sure that there's some magic involved," Lily told her before running towards the barrier. Alex's jaw dropped when he saw Lily disappear into the barrier. What was more surprising was that no one seemed to notice.

"Well I guess we better get a move on if we want to say goodbye," Mr. Evans remarked, a little shocked. Alex went through first.

"See I told you there was nothing to worry about," Lily said with a smile, hugging Alex. Then she hugged her parents and a reluctant Petunia.

"We'll miss you, little sister," Alex told her sweetly, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"I'll miss you too, big brother," Lily said softly.

It wasn't until the train pulled out of the station, did it hit Alex how much things would change. His little sister was going on a journey that he would never be part of. But he knew she would still need him.


	4. Chapter 4

"And now for a few words from our valedictorian: Louis Andrews," Alex's headmaster called. Alex gave his friend the thumbs up sign as Louis walked up to the podium, looking as though he was going to have a panic attack any minute now.

"Greetings friends and family, today is a special occasion for it marks the first day of the rest of our lives," Louis began, swallowing hard and keeping his eyes on his notecards. "My friends and I have come a long way from being freshmen who didn't know what they were doing with their lives. We are now seniors, ready to embark to the next stop on our journey through life. And I think we should take a moment and thank everyone who helped us get there. Who were with us every step of the way."

Alex looked away from Louis and at his family. His father was struggling to take the camera from his mother. Petunia was dabbing her wet eyes with her handkerchief. And Lily was beaming at Alex.

"This speech is a bit cheesy and mushy," Peter Edwards whispered to Alex.

"Hey I helped write it," Alex snapped.

"That explains it," Peter joked. Alex glared at him. "Come on, mate. The way you gush about how special your sister is, you've gotten a reputation as a sap."

"And yet somehow, you have not beaten this sap in a fight since we were ten," Alex retorted. Peter made a mocking face at him.

"Thank you very much," Louis finished as everyone started clapping. After Louis went back to his seat. The headmaster began to call out their names.

When he called Alex's name, Mrs. Evans began to snap many pictures of him before Mr. Evans could wrestle it from her hands. Alex shook the headmasters' hand and took his diploma before going back to his seat.

* * *

"I can't believe that my baby graduated," Mrs. Evans gushed, hugging her son. "Congratulations, sweetheart."

"We have a surprise for you, son," Mr. Evans told him brightly.

"What is it?" Alex asked, giving Lily and Petunia a hug. They walked to the parking lot where a Bristol 411 sat. Alex's eyes widened. So did Petunia's. "You got me a car!" Alex exclaimed in disbelief and pure joy.

"We thought it would make a nice graduation gift for you," Mr. Evans explained with a smile. "But if you don't want it, we can send it back." Alex laughed as Mr. Evans handed him the keys.

"But Daddy, I told you I needed a car to go to go to my job as a waitress," Petunia whined. Alex rolled his eyes. Petunia had gotten a respectable job as waitress. She said it was to help support the family but Alex knew that she really just wanted to buy pretty outfits her mother wouldn't buy her.

"Now, now, Pet, Alex is going to need this car when he moves to Cokeworth's university. We want him to visit as often as he can," Mr. Evans told her sternly. "Alex would you like to take your new car for a spin."

"That sounds great. Lily, Petunia, would you like to get some ice cream?" Alex asked his sisters.

"No. I'm not getting into that old car with you," Petunia said bitterly.

* * *

Alex and Lily drove to the nearest ice cream store while Mr. and Mrs. Evans drove Petunia home. Lily and Alex got strawberry and chocolate ice cream respectively. As they ate their ice cream, Lily told Alex about Hogwarts and certain boy named James Potter.

"I hate him," Lily said forcefully. "I know that I shouldn't judge people before getting to know them. But I know for a fact that, I will always hate James Potter because he is an arrogant toerag."

"Just give me his address, Lily and I'll go punch him for you," Alex told her fiercely. Lily sighed.

"Thank you but no, I wouldn't want you getting into trouble for punching a thirteen year old," Lily remarked. "But he aggravates me so much. I just wish he'd leave me and Sev alone. But no, for someone reason, he loves to bother me and he hates Sev for no reason."

Alex chewed his lip thoughtfully. "Interesting. Does he call you names that he knows bug you?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. Red is his favorite one to call me," Lily answered crossly.

"Does he annoy any other girl besides you?" Alex inquired. Lily shook her head. "Yeah, he fancies you."

"What!" Lily exclaimed in shock. "No way. James Potter does not fancy me." It might have been Alex's imagination but Lily's cheeks looked a little red.

"Lily, take it from a bloke who used to be thirteen. At that age when boy really likes a girl, he will annoy her. Plus I betcha he hates Severus for no other reason besides that Severus is your close friend," Alex explained.

"Well he's still a git," Lily snapped. Alex chuckled. He had a strange feeling that in a few years, Lily would be seeing Potter differently in a few years.

* * *

Two years later.

"I hate him!" Lily shouted, running into her brother's waiting arms. Tears were running down her face.

"What did Potter do?" Alex asked, searching the station for that black haired boy who caused his sister to cry.

"Not him," Lily sobbed. "Severus called me a mudblood."

"A what?" Mr. Evans asked confused, not knowing what that word meant. Unfortunately Alex did. A year before some white haired boy had called Lily that name in front of Alex and Lily's friend, Alice. Alice had told Alex what the word meant.

"Dad, why don't you take, Lily home, while I find Snape," Alex suggested, disappearing into the crowd before Lily could call him back.

Alex found Snape getting off the train with two other boys. Alex wasted no time and punched Snape in the nose.

"You were supposed to protect her, you bastard, not make her cry!" Alex exclaimed. The two boys whipped out their wands.

"Big mistake, you dumb muggles," one of them snarled.

"Now, two on one, doesn't seem fair," a new voice said casually. Alex spun around to see James Potter and his three friends behind him, their wands out. "Now why don't you leave Mr. Evans alone before we have to kick your butts."

"He's not worth it," Snape told his friends, getting up, his hand on his bleeding nose. "He's just a muggle." The two boys walked away with Snape. Snape looked over his shoulder at Alex, his eyes filled with regret. Alex looked away.

"You must be Lily's brother, Alex Evans," James Potter greeted him cheerfully, extending his hand for Alex to shake. "I heard a lot about you."

"You know when he stalks your sister and spies on her conversations with her friends," Sirius Black joked with a bark of a laugh. James threw him a nasty look. Alex shook James' hand.

"Nice to finally meet you," Alex told him. "I haven't exactly heard nice things about you but you saving me from those gits makes up for it." James grinned at him.

"Hey anyone who punches a Death Eater like Snape is a friend of mine," James told him firmly. "Say Alex, have you ever seen a Quidditch match?"

"No, I haven't," Alex answered. "But I hear they're pretty cool."

"Well these blokes and I are going to the World Cup this June and you've welcome to tag along if you like," James suggested.

"You wouldn't be just doing this because you're hoping that I'll help you win my sister," Alex guessed. James chuckled nervously.

"That thought might have crossed my mind," he admitted.

"If you'll keep her away from people who will hurt her then maybe I will," Alex told him brightly.

"You have got yourself a deal," James agreed.


	5. Chapter 5

Alex never brought many girls home to meet his family. Not because he was ashamed of them, but because he didn't want his family to get attached to his girlfriend only to have her freak out when she found out Lily's secret.

That was exactly why Alex had such few girlfriends in high school and his first two years of college. He didn't want to get close to anyone who would either think that Lily was crazy or that she was dangerous. Of course, Alex had decided a long time ago, that any girl who thought Lily was a freak was not worthy of his time.

Thankfully, Barbra Diggory did not have that problem. Alex met her when he was twenty and in a pub with James, Peter, Remus and Sirius.

Years later, when Alex described the moment that Barbra and his eyes met to his children and nephews, he left out an embarrassing detail.

* * *

"Come on, Alex, you can do it," James told him firmly. "All you gotta do is chug seven firewhiskeys to break Sirius' record." Ever since that fateful day at the train station, the four boys would include Alex in their shenanigans over the summer.

"I thought he only turned seventeen last week," Alex remarked. Remus rolled his eyes as Sirius chuckled, shaking his head at Alex's naïve comment.

"Obviously you've never been to a Gryffindor party," Peter laughed, proudly. "We've had firewhiskey since we were fifteen."

Seeing Alex's raised eyebrow and the slightest of frowns on his face, Remus quickly rushed to assure him about Lily's participation - or lack of participation - in such mischief. "Your sister would wisely stay in the library," he reassured.

Alex gave a distinctly relieved laugh at hearing that. He didn't doubt Remus's claim. Even at home, Lily refused to do anything that broke the rules their parents had set on them.

"Come on, Alex, chug the firewhiskeys and Sirius will owe me twenty galleons," James pleaded, turning the conversation back to the matter at hand.

Alex turned his attention back to the alcoholic drink. "Are you sure Muggles are allowed drink this stuff?" Alex asked worriedly, looking at the firewhiskey wearily. He didn't want to risk any sort of health issues or magical accidents that couldn't be dealt with promptly because he was a Muggle with a bunch of amateur wizards who had just turned of age.

"We've already used magic in front of you and the Ministry hasn't come around yet. Now chug! Chug! Chug!" Sirius chanted causing Peter and James to follow suit. Remus sighed and gave him a "get this over with" look.

Alex grabbed a mug and drowned the contents in one go. He didn't even pause to wipe his mouth as he grabbed another one. He felt a burning sensation in his throat and he was oddly filled with a feeling that seemed rather similar to courage. He kept drinking until he heard cheers from his friends.

"You did it, mate, you beat him," James remarked, clapping him on the back. "How do you feel?"

"Like I'm going to hurl," Alex told them, getting up and racing for the bathroom. Just as he did so, he bumped into a dark-haired woman.

"Excuse me," she said politely.

Alex didn't say anything for a minute. He just stared at her beautiful grey eyes.

"Hi, I'm Alex Evans," Alex said finally, trying not to sound flustered.

"I'm Barbra Diggory," the woman told him sweetly, extending her hand for him to shake.

"Oh no," Alex said softly as a great feeling of sickness began rising within him.

Just when he thought he might be able to overcome the nausea, he vomited, right on poor Barbra's shoes.

Thankfully, James had followed him when he had leapt up from their booth, and quickly waved his wand to clean Barbra's shoes. Strangely, Barbra wasn't at all upset about her shoes.

"Wow, you really can't hold your liquor, can you, Alex?" Barbra laughed, casually waving away his spluttering apologies about her shoes with a perfectly manicured hand.

"It's his first time drinking firewhiskey," James explained.

"And I normally don't drink that much alcohol," Alex said, with a chuckle as he sat down on a nearby bar stool to recover.

"Well then I suppose you won't want me to buy you a drink," Barbra commented, with a coy smile

"No thanks. But thank you for the offer," Alex told her with a weak smile, rubbing his temples tiredly. James gave him a funny look. Barbra looked disappointed at his answer.

"In case you change your mind, I'm going to be sitting over there with my soon to-be sister-in-law," Barbra told him, waving as she walked towards a table in the back of the pub.

"What?" Alex asked James who was still gaping at him.

"You're such a nitwit!" he exclaimed, giving him a loud thwack on his back. "She was flirting with you!"

"No, she wasn't," Alex said in disbelief. James gave him an incredulous look.

"You barfed on her shoes and she still wanted to talk to you," James told him slowly as though he was talking to a child.

Alex's eyes widened as realization dawned on him. James sighed, glad that Alex had finally gotten the picture.

"What do I do?" Alex asked nervously, gazing over to where Barbra was sitting with another woman. The two were giggling away over their butterbeers and seemed to keep glancing towards Alex's direction every few seconds.

"What do you mean what do you do? You've asked out girls before," James reminded him.

"Not wizard girls," Alex groaned, letting his head fall into his hands.

"Actually she'd be a witch," James corrected him.

"Whatever, I need help," Alex hissed, not caring about the technicalities that James was uselessly pointing out to him.

"Don't worry about it. Just ask her to dinner tomorrow. If she says no, you'll only be a toad for a little while," James joked. Alex glared at him. "Wow, you Evans do not have a sense of humor, do you? Just go ask her out. You'll be fine." He patted Alex on the back dramatically, and saluted as he turned to walk back to the Marauders' booth.

Alex nodded and walked over to Barbra. Minutes later, he happily walked back to the four boys.

"Well? How did it go?" Sirius asked. James had filled them in on what happened. "Did she bill you for her shoes?" Even Remus couldn't help but smirk at that.

"Not funny and she said yes to the date," Alex told them with a grin.

* * *

"His name is Vernon Dursley and he works over at Grunnings. We've only been dating for two weeks but we're already pretty serious," Petunia told them over dinner.

Alex groaned. When he had agreed to come to dinner, he was hoping that Petunia wouldn't make the night about her as usual.

"That's wonderful dear," Mrs. Evans remarked. Mr. Evans grunted. Alex had a feeling that he knew who Vernon Dursley was and didn't approve. Fortunately, Petunia didn't seem to notice her father's disdain for her new boyfriend. "What about you, Lily? Have you been seeing anyone lately?"

"No. No one at all," Lily answered, her eyes cast downwards as they always were when she lied. Alex's eyes widened. Lily usually told her parents if she was seeing someone and she especially would have told Alex.

"You aren't dating that horrid Snape boy, are you?" Petunia asked with disgust evident in her tone. Alex gave Petunia a dirty look. Almost two years had passed since Snape had called Lily that word but it was still a sore spot with Lily.

"No," Lily protested. "I'm not seeing anyone." Petunia's eyes narrowed, no doubt sensing Lily's lie.

"But you do like someone, don't you?" she questioned sharply. Although the same question had been weighing on Alex's mind, he wondered why this was so important to Petunia.

Lily's cheeks turned red and Alex could see that Petunia had hit home. Alex decided to save his little sister from anymore of Petunia's questioning.

"I've been seeing a girl for a month. I was thinking about bringing her to meet the family in a week," Alex commented, butting into Petunia's interrogation.

"That's marvelous, Alex," Mrs. Evans said excitedly, her eyes lighting up. Her son had never brought a girl home before. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"I didn't want to jinx it," Alex answered, feeling a bit embarrassed at all the sudden attention.

"She's a really wonderful person, Mum. She was the Head Girl when I was in my fourth year. And she played Quidditch so well, she nearly beat James," Lily said with a smile.

Alex didn't know what surprised him more - that James had told his sister about Barbra or the fact that Lily had called him James.

It looked like Sirius lost another bet.


End file.
